Woodstock Church of Christ

Look, I just want to keep my family healthy, spiritually and physically. I want to keep my family out of the hospital, and I want to get my family to heaven. B...ut I don't know what to believe about COVID-19. Some days I'm alarmed. Some days I think, "This is blown out of proportion." I see reports that demonstrate that masks are effective, then I see reports that masks don't work. I see reports that the virus spreads in areas of high population density, then I see reports that say density doesn't really matter. I hear the young aren't at risk, then I hear they are. Inconsistencies abound. Does anyone know what's going on? The "authorities" can't get the story straight. I just feel lost and I don't know what to believe. Until I discovered the CDC count of total deaths. They keep records of this. Real numbers. No politics, no cause of death. Just deaths. Between March - June 2019, there were 936,124 deaths in the United States. I'm not an expert, but I bet that's pretty normal. So I compared that number to the same period in 2020. Between March - June 2020, there were 1,015,187 deaths in the United States. 79,063. That's the difference. 80k more deaths these last four months compared to the same four months last year. That can't be normal. Something caused those excessive deaths. In a country of 330,000,000, that's a statistical uptick. I don't doubt there's a virus. It's real and it's dangerous. But has our reaction to this threat been right? We need to be vigilant. We need to take added safety measures. We need to wash our hands more often. Maybe we need to keep wearing masks. I don't know. But I do want to protect others -- if nothing else, their feelings & comfort level. We've shut our church-wide assemblies. We've cancelled all our events. No more Bible classes for a while. We've isolated ourselves from one another. We've all but stopped our in-person evangelism. The question I keep asking MYSELF: Are we doing the right thing? See, I'm really wrestling with this. Personally. My heart wants to know what to do. I pray about this every day. I'm thankful for elders, at my congregation, who are also wrestling with this as I am. They're just trying to serve God. You are too. Is God pleased with us no longer assembling? Is God asking, "Where is my church?" There are still many congregations that are closed, many members haven't darkened the door since March. Do we--as humans--even have the authority to cancel our church-wide assemblies this long? I'm not sure we do. Jesus, when He built His church, didn't design Christianity to be a religion of isolation. We need one another. The church needs to be together. The word "ekklesia," depending on the context, literally means the assembled ones. Just look up all the "one another" verses in the Bible. Be impressed. I won't make it to heaven alone. I need you. And social media won't cut it. I don't have all the answers. But at this point, I can say this: If you find yourself increasingly comfortable staying at home (instead of increasingly uncomfortable), then the virus isn't your biggest problem. Chances are, you're risking a lot more by staying home than being with your brethren. You need your shepherds. You need your Christian family. You need to hear those voices--in person--exegeting Scripture, expressing their convictions, encouraging you to go on. You need to laugh and cry with one another again. Together. If you haven't yet, go back to "church." I think that's what I need to be saying right now. Take precautions, whatever those are. Listen to people smarter than me. But go back. Unless your doctor forbids it (and even then, maybe we need to push back on his opinion a little more; Maybe we need to do a better job thinking about things more from the standpoint of spiritual safety than we do physical safety). I know the arguments. "We are just protecting others by staying home." "We can still worship as a family." "The church isn't limited to a building." I'm not disagreeing here. I, personally, just need to do a better job stepping back and looking at what matters. What's my biggest fear? A fever of 103 degrees for a few days, or an eternity in hell clocked in at 10,000 degrees? (I'm not trying to be unfair here; you can still stay home and fear eternity more than a virus. I'm not questioning anyone's faith. I'm just asking you to ask the question.) I'm a Christian! Should I really be so afraid of death? Should the church? Do we still believe the Bible? Do we still believe that heaven--being IN THE ARMS OF JESUS!--is worth the risk? Sometimes there's an imminent threat and you just can't justify going to church. I understand that. Jesus understands that. I'm glad I don't have to be perfect. And He's promised to save me, even if I unintentionally get some things wrong (including when to stay home, and when to go to church). But at what point is the threat no longer imminent? I'm just going to keep trying my best. Don't stop wrestling with this. Don't give up.

Today's Sermon and Invitation! https://youtu.be/-DF0PMJPA5Y

https://www.facebook.com/digitalbiblestudy1/

Woodstock Church of Christ Summer Series 2020 Available on the Woodstock Church of Christ YouTube page https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzIDPK3tTAJSF4UCOKYAS3A ... June 3 Jake Sutton, Piedmont Road CoC: Adultery and Fornication June 10 Ross Anderson, Cedar Grove CoC: Uncleanness and Lewdness June 17 Harold Savage, Snellville CoC: Idolatry and Sorcery June 24 Mike Benson, Oxford CoC: Hatred and Contentions July 1 Chad Dollahite, Bremen CoC: Jealousies and Outbursts of Wrath July 8 Tommy Tidwell, South Cobb CoC: Selfish Ambitions and Dissensions July 15 Kyle Rye, Buford CoC: Heresies and Envy July 22 Michael Farris, Oak Hill CoC: Murders and Drunkenness July 29 Scott Ihle, Bear Valley Institute: Revelries and Love August 5 Carey Oglesby, Madison CoC: Joy and Peace August 12 Grant Fuller, North Cobb CoC: Longsuffering and Kindness August 19 Stan Butt, Peachtree City CoC: Goodness and Faithfulness August 26 Eric Owens, Avondale CoC: Gentleness and Self Control

Elders Message 6/3/2020 - Update The Eldership is thankful that we will be able to begin worshiping together again this Sunday June 7th. Please review the guidelines at the end of this message with regard to plans and procedures for Sunday’s worship service. This will also mark the last midweek written elders’ message that has become our normal communication effort during the pandemic. Beginning Sunday, we will relay any message updates during the shepherd’s prayer portion o...Continue reading